Penn State merchandise sales slow down

If you bought a new Penn State T-shirt, sweatshirt or hat this year, you've passed the loyalty test.

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By CHARLES THOMPSON

poconorecord.com

By CHARLES THOMPSON

Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By CHARLES THOMPSON

Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

If you bought a new Penn State T-shirt, sweatshirt or hat this year, you've passed the loyalty test.

The Nittany Lions football team and head coach Bill O'Brien have overcome tremendous adversity in their just-ended season.

They have endured the fallout from Jerry Sandusky's arrest and conviction for child sex crimes, the death of Joe Paterno and the ongoing debate over his legacy, and the NCAA's four-year bowl ban and scholarship reductions.

While Penn State's football team has enjoyed a winning season on the field, merchandise sales haven't rebounded.

In the first quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal year (July through September), Penn State ranked 12th among all major universities in royalty payments derived from sales of clothing and other products bearing licensed logos, according to the Collegiate Licensing Company. It reflected a consistently strong showing for a team that hasn't been in the national championship picture for several years, and it was also the last full quarter before Sandusky's arrest.

This year, for the same quarter, Penn State slipped to 20th, right behind much smaller West Virginia University (18) and Texas A&M (19).

"That's typically a pretty good gauge on the enthusiasm of the fan following," said Mike Smith, a reporter for Sports Business Daily.

Schools usually soar up the charts during or after a national title-contending season, Smith said. Drops are usually far more gradual.

So for Penn State, it's been a precipitous fall, and it's left empty space in cash registers across central Pennsylvania.

At the Old State Clothing Co. in State College, owner Erin O'Leary calls this the worst year since she opened in 1998.

"I think people are still Penn State proud, but it's whether they are 'loud and proud' that might be a different story these days," O'Leary said.

She could not provide exact sales figures for her store last week, but estimated that sales of licensed apparel and other merchandise are down at least 30 percent from 2010, the last full season before the scandal.

"It's no joke how much of a hit this has caused the market," O'Leary said.

Another State College merchant, Steve Moyer, believes sales have held up pretty well among the tried-and-true Penn State backers: the students who are in Happy Valley or a branch campus, or the alums who have ponied up hundreds of dollars for season tickets.

At Moyer's store, Lions Pride on College Avenue, sales on game weekends have been solid. And he expects that when all is said and done this year, the store across the lawn from Old Main will be very close to 2010 results.

But his store's online sales are down about 20 percent, so Moyer thinks there is a real enthusiasm gap in what he calls the "fringe fans," the people who follow the team primarily by TV, or who maybe were really devoted to Paterno and have lost that tie.

Penn State has always been No. 1 in terms of college sellers at Bleacher Bums, a sports apparel store with three midstate locations. But Dave Sklar, owner of Bleacher Bums, said the real growth in recent years has come from the pros: National Football League and Major League Baseball merchandise.

In part, that's because "Penn State has not had those great runs at the national title" for a number of years, Sklar said. In fact, Penn State football has not been ranked in the top 10 nationally since the end of the 2009 season.

The nonlicensed "pride" merchandise — such as "Thank You" shirts for Paterno or more colorful commentary aimed at the NCAA and Louis Freeh — has softened the blow for some merchants.

And Sklar said that after watching Penn State sales tank in the months after Sandusky's arrest, he did see some of the faithful rally around the team and O'Brien this year.

"We saw fans come back out to support the team," Sklar said.

Through the season, Sklar saw a little surge in pre-season support for the team and its new coach, then a drop after the season-opening losses. Business picked up again as the midseason win streak progressed, leading to a spike in activity leading up to the Ohio State "white-out."

"People were big-time up for that game," he said.

But many said it's hard to tell when the Penn State brand will be back to full strength.

In State College, the larger concern may be: are there as many diehards as before?

"The brand name has taken a much greater perceived blow than what it deserved," O'Leary said.